Continuing Education Campuses Promote Stop the Hate Week

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San Diego Continuing Education is training faculty, staff, and students in association with Stop the Hate, a national coalition and resource for educational institutions.

SAN DIEGO – A group of 30—including students, instructors, counselors, deans, administrators, and staff—from San Diego Continuing Education attended a three-day intense training to help fight bias and hate crimes on Continuing Education campuses. Armed with the new knowledge, the group of 30 is now training 100 additional faculty, staff, administrators, and students throughout six Continuing Education campuses this week, which is designated as Stop the Hate Week in San Diego Continuing Education.

The Stop the Hate training includes discussion, activity, and statistics. “When people attend, they learn about transitioning into a more active role vs. a bystander role when witnessing bias incidents,” said Bob Parker, Vice President of Administrative Services at Continuing Education, and Chairman of the Bias Incident Response Team on campus.

The trainings are timely. On Friday, May 25, more than 1,100 San Diegans will celebrate diversity and acceptance with their attendance at the Fourth Annual Harvey Milk Diversity Breakfast in downtown San Diego. The event will honor Senator Christine Kehoe and Mayor Jerry Sanders with leadership and equality awards. The event brings together San Diegans who support equality and justice in celebration of the life and work of Harvey Milk.

San Diego Continuing Education is a safe place for students to learn and faculty and staff to work. Thoughts and acts of prejudice have no place in the Continuing Education community. The Stop the Hate program reflects Continuing Education’s commitment to provide education and reporting tools to combat bias and hate crimes in all forms. The Stop the Hate coalition supports higher education institutions in preventing and combating hate on campus as well as fostering the development of community support. The national program serves as the premier source of anti-hate educational resources for higher education institutions and campus communities.

“We have one of the most diverse educational organizations in the nation,” said Dr. Anthony E. Beebe, President of Continuing Education. “California residents have come from more than 140 countries to study in our classes and better their lives through education. We pride ourselves for the positive impact this diversity brings to the learning environment, and to the San Diego community.”

Continuing Education has a dedicated team in place who can respond to incidents. The BIRT (Bias Incident Response Team) supports anyone on campus affected by a bias incident or hate crime by identifying and recommending community resources. BIRT also educates the campus community on how to prevent bias incidents and hate crimes, and on the procedures for reporting such incidents, which is the primary reason for the trainings this week during Stop the Hate week.

San Diego Continuing Education is the adult education division of the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD) and serves 90,000+ students annually at six main campuses and many community locations. Offering the Stop the Hate training to faculty, staff, and students supports the SDCCD strategic goals to strengthen and expand support services to respond to changing student needs, and to enhance professional development for all staff.

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San Diego Continuing Education is the adult education division of the San Diego Community College District.
SDCE was one of the first continuing education institutions in California to meet the standards for independent accreditation from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. More than 90,000 students are served per academic year at six main campuses in San Diego. Noncredit classes are available at no cost, including online options.

Certificate programs are offered for numerous industries including: Automotive Technician, Child Development, Culinary Arts, Nursing Assistant training, Professional Bakeshop Skills, and Plumbing. Classes are free because San Diego Continuing Education is part of the California system of higher education. Funding also comes through business and industry partnerships. Learn more at www.sdce.edu

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Mission: San Diego Continuing Education commits to student success and community enrichment by providing accessible, equitable, and innovative quality education and support services to diverse adult learners in pursuit of lifelong learning, training, career advancement, and pathways to college.